Throttle and transmission operating mechanism for single lever engine control



May 10, 1960 J. F. MORSE 2,935,891

THROTTLE AND TRANSMISSION OPERATING MECHANISM FOR SINGLE LEVER ENGINE CONTROL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 4, 1958 REVERSE THROTTLE RANGE 25 FORWARD THROTTLE RANGE INVENTOR. JOHN F. M SE BY 3% Y ATTORNEYS May 10, 1960 J, MORSE 2,935,891

THROTTLE AND TRANSMISSION OPERATING MECHANISM FOR SINGLE LEVER ENGINE CONTROL Filed June 4, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 NEUTRAL FORWARD F 3 RENE? RANGE REVERSE THROTTLE RANGE 25 FORWARD THROTTLE RANGE INVENTOR.

JOHN F. MORSE ATTORNEYS THRQTTLE TRANSMISSION OPERATKNG MECHANISM FUR SINGLE LEVER ENGINE CONTROL John F. Morse, Hudson, Ohio Application June 4, 1958, Serial No. 739,711 4 Qlairns. c1. 74--472' The invention relates generally to remote single lever controls for marine engines, and more particularly to improved mechanism for reducing advance of the engine throttle as thesingle control lever is moved from neutral through the forward shifting range.

In single lever controls for marine engines, the clutch and throttle control arms are geared together so that movement of the single control lever forward from neutral position first engages the engine clutch in forward position and then advances the throttle as the boat moves forward, while movement of the control lever rearward from neutral position first engages the engine clutch in reverse position and then advances the throttle as the boat moves astern. The forward throttle range is normally substantially greater than the reverse throttle range, as advanced speeds in reverse are'not desirable or necessary.

In such control systems, the control lever is connected to the engine throttle lever by a linkage which may include a push-pull cable, and a small advance of the throttle normally inherently occurs when the control lever is moved in either direction through the clutch shifting range. Some of this throttle advance movement is absorbed by backlash in the system, particularly where push-pull cables of substantial length are present, but a slight advance of the throttle still takes place in practically all systems as the control lever is moved through the shifting range.

While this slight advance of the throttle does not normally damage the shifting mechanism because the shifting is completed before the throttle has accelerated the engine enough to cause damage, nevertheless, at the end very desirable to operate the boat at very low forward speeds, as for example in trolling for fish.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide an improved single lever control which enables operating a marine engine at minimum forward speeds substantially equivalent to idling speed at neutral.

A further object is to provide an improved throttle operating arm mechanism in a single lever control unit for reducing the amount of throttle advance as the control lever is moved through the forward shifting range.

A still further object is to provide a simple and improved .throttle op'erating arm which is adapted for use with prior single lever engine control units when minimum forward speeds are required.

' These and ancillary objects which will appear from the following description are attained by the improvements comprising the present invention, a prefer-red em bodiment of which is shown byway of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a rear side elevation of a single lever control unit embodying the invention, with the control lever in neutral position.

: taes Patent Fig. 2 is a front end elevation as on line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. l, with the control lever at the start of the forward throttlerange.

Fig. 4 is a similar view with the throttle and clutch control arms and cable mounting plate removed to show the interrupted gears operatively connecting the arms.

The control unit indicated generally at 10 has a housing 11 adapted for attachment to a mounting pad in the side of a boat, and the inner face of the housing may be attached to a bracket plate 12 by screws 13. A throttle control arm shaft 14 is journaled in housing 11 and has the single control lever 16 keyed on its front end in a suitable manner. secured on the projecting rear end of the shaft 14 by a screw 18 and washer 19.

An interrupted gear 20 keyed on shaft 14 Within the housing meshes in neutral position with an interrupted gear 21 keyed on a clutch control arm shaft 22 also journaled in the housing 11. The shaft '22 has a rear- Wardly projecting squared end 23 on which the clutch control or shifting arm 24 is non-rotatively mounted by a screw 25. v

The gears 20 and 21 may have the same pitch as shown, in which case a 45 movement of the control lever 16 and the throttle arm 17 in either direction rotates the shifting arm 24 through 45 in the opposite direction. However, the relative pitchesof the two gears may vary as desired. V

The throttle control arm 17is operatively connected to the usual throttle lever (not shown) of the engine, and the clutch control arm 24 is operatively connected to the usual shift lever or clutch lever (not shown) of the engine. In the embodiment shown the throttle and clutch control arms are connected respectively to the engine by push-pull cables 26 and 27 of the swivelend type, in which the ends of the cable casing are rigidly mounted on the bracket plate 12 of the control unit, and extensible links pivotally connect the cables to the armsto compensate for the arcuate motion of the arms.

The outer end of throttle control arm 17 has a swivel connector 28 connected to the end of a push rod 25 which telescopes within a sleeve 30 and is connected to the core of cable 26, and the opposite end of the sleeve has aswivel connection with a bushing 31 secured in the end flange of bracket plate 12 by a clip 32. The'casing of cable 26 is secured in the bushing. Similarly, the outer end of clutch control arm 24 has a swivel connector 33 connected to a push rod 34 which telescopes within a sleeve 35 and is connected to the core of cable 27, and the opposite end of sleeve 35 has a swivel connection with a bushing 36 secured in the end flange of bracket plate 12 by a clip 32. The casing of cable 27 is secured in the bushing 36. The push rods and sleeves comprise linkages pivotally connecting the arms 17 and 24 to the cables.

When the. gear 20 is rotated about 45 in either direction, the gear segment on gear 20 becomes unmeshed" well-known and per se forms no part of the present in-.

vention. h The shifting lever 24 may be made slidable radially on A throttle arm 17 is non-rotativelythe shaft 22, and may have a gage plate 39 thereon having a pin 40 at its outer end for selectively entering one of a series of holes 41 in the arm to adjust the radial length of the arm. The construction and operation of the adjustable arm is the subject of my copending application Serial No. 737,404, filed May 23, 1958, and entitled Shifting Arrn For Single Lever Control.

As shown, the throttle control arm 17 extends forwardly of the shaft 14 in the neutral position of Fig. 1, so that rotation of the shaft in either direction exerts a push on the push rod 29 which is transmitted by the core of cable 26 to the throttle lever of the engine. By reversing the position of arm 17 through 180, it can be attached to a pull rod for operating a pull-open throttle. However, the position shown of arm 17 causes less displacement of the push rod 29 in the shifting range than with the arm in reversed position, because in the former position the arm 17 and push rod 29 are swinging in the same general direction on different arcs.

According to the present invention, the outer end of arm 17 is widened so that the swivel connection at 28 with the arm in neutral position is offset into the normal reverse range, or in other words about toward the reverse side from a position indicated by line A in alignment with the throttle arm shaft and the linkage connecting it to the casing of cable 26 anchored to bracket plate 12. The hole 28' at the opposite side of the arm is provided for attaching the swivel 28 in a control unit of the opposite hand.

Referring to Fig. 1, as the arm 17 is swung forwardly through 10 by the control lever 16 from the offset neutral position shown, no displacement of the push rod 29 toward cable 26 will take place to advance the throttle. As the arm 17 is swung into the forward range some 30 more, the are described by swivel connection 23 will cause a slight displacement of the push rod 29 toward cable 26, but it will be substantially less than if the arm Was swung 40 from the normal aligned neutral position.

The forward and reverse ranges have been shown at 40 each since, for practical purposes, the shift is completed at 40 although the gear 21 is not completely unmeshed from gear 29 until the gears are rotated through 45. The various ranges of movement of the swivel connection with the thorttle arm are shown in Fig. 1, and the corresponding ranges of movement of the single control lever 16 are shown in Fig. 3. The upright neutral position of lever 16 corresponds to the offset neutral position of the throttle arm with respect to line A.

Due'to the offset arrangement of the throttle arm in neutral, the forward shift may be completed without appreciably advancing the throttle and at the beginning of the forward throttle range the throttle will be substantially at idling speed. Hence the engine can be operated to drive the boat forwardly at minimum speeds for trolling and the like.

It is apparent that the offset arrangement will increase the displacement of push rod 29 and consequent advance of the throttle during the reverse shift range because the are through which the throttle arm is swung will be increased by 10". 'However, as previously'mentioned, a moderate advance of the throttle during the reverse shift is not objectionable because of the inefficiency of the propeller in reverse and because reversal of the engine is usually employed to stop or retard the speed of the forward motion of the boat. Further, minimum speeds in reverse are not necessary for trolling.

The improved throttle control arm is adapted to easily replace an arm having an aligned swivel connection, whenever it is desired to provide for minimum forward speeds.

Various embodiments and changes in details of constrnction are comprehended within the scope of the invention defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a single lever marine engine control unit having a throttle control shaft and a clutch control shaft operatively connected thereto for rotation through a shifting range only during the first part of rotation of the throttle control shaft in forward and reverse directions from neutral, said shafts being connected to linkages for transmitting movement to the throttle and clutch controls of the engine, the improvement comprising an arm secured on said throttle control shaft having a swivel connector at its outer end for connection to'the throttle actuating linkage, said swivel connector in the neutral position of the throttle control shaft being offset toward the reverse side of a position in alignment with said shaft and the throttle actuating linkage, whereby when the throttle control shaft is rotated through the forward shifting range the movement transmitted to the throttle actuating linkage is reduced. 7

2. In a single lever marine engine control unit having a throttle control shaft and a clutch control shaft operatively connected thereto for rotation through a shifting range of the order of about 45 only during the first part of rotation of the throttle control shaft in forward and reverse directions from neutral, said shafts being connected to linkages for transmitting movement to the throttle and clutch controls of the engine, the improvement comprising an arm secured on said throttle control shaft having a swivel connector at its outer end for connection to the throttle actuating linkage, said swivel connector in the neutral position of the throttle control shaft being offset about 10 toward the reverse side of a position in alignment with said shaft and the throttle actuating linkage, whereby when the throttle control shaft is rotated through the forward shifting range the movement transmitted to the throttle actuating linkage is reduced.

3. In a single lever marine engine control unit having a throttle control shaft and a clutch control shaft operatively connected thereto for rotation through a shifting range only during the first part of rotation of the throttle control shaft in forward and reverse direction from neutral, said shafts being connected to linkages for transmitting movement to push-pull cables anchored at one end of said control unit, the improvement comprising an arm secured to the throttle control shaft having a swivel connector at its outer end for connection to the throttle actuating linkage, said swivel connector in the neutralposition of the throttle control shaft being offset toward the reverse side of a position in alignment with said shaft and the anchored end of the push-pull cable operatively connected thereto, whereby when the throttle control shaft is rotated through the forward shifting range the movement transmitted to the throttle actuating linkage is minimized.

4. In a single lever marine engine control unit having a V throttle control shaft and a clutch control shaft operatively connected thereto for rotation through a shifting range of the order of about 45 only during the first part of rotation of the throttle control shaft in forward and reverse direction from neutral, said shafts being connected to linkages for transmitting movement to push-pull cables anchored at one end to said control unit, the improvement comprising an arm secured to the throttle control shaft having a swivel connector at its outer end for connection to the throttle actuating linkage, said swivel connector in the neutral position of the throttle control shaft being offset about 10 toward the reverse side of a position in alignment with said shaft and the anchored end of the push-pull cable operatively connected thereto whereby when the throttle control shaft is rotated through the forward shifting range the movement transmitted to the throttle actuating linkage is minimized.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,588,650 Morse Mar. 11, 1952 2,836,383 Morse Mar. 11, 1958 UNITED STATES PHENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.2,935,89l 1 May 10, 1960 I John F. Mtrse It is herebi certified that error a1pears in the-printed specification of the above numberedv patent requiring ccrrection and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 4, line 42, for "of said control unit" read to said control unit line 75, list of'references clted for the patent number- "2,836,383" read 2,826,283

Signed and sealed this 1st day of November 1960.

( $EAL) Attestz.

KARL H. AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

